Tag: njpw live results

New Japan Cup finals live results: Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Shingo Takagi and Will Ospreay will face off tonight in this year’s New Japan Cup finals. 

Shingo vs. Ospreay is a rematch of the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors final, a match that Ospreay won. Both now classified as heavyweights, they will face off again for the right to challenge Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the upcoming NJPW Sakura Genesis event. 

In the semi-main, Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada will take on Jay White, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens. 

In the fourth match of the night, David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Toa Henare will face Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI. 

Before intermission, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI and SHO will tag against EVIL, KENTA and Yujiro Takahashi. 

Satoshi Kojima and Tomoaki Honma will team up against The Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb of United Empire. 

In the opener, Yota Tsuji, Gabriel Kidd and Yuya Uemura will face Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. and DOUKI. 

Our live coverage begins at 1 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

The show began with a surprise appearance from YOH of Roppongi 3K. YOH has been out of action with a torn ACL. He announced that he will be back in the ring at Sakura Genesis on April 4 and wants to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles with SHO. 

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Yota Tsuji, Gabriel Kidd & Yuya Uemura (10:39)

This was a great opener. 

The story of the match was the Young Lions frustrating the established Suzuki-gun veterans with their skill. The veterans gave the young guys a ton in this one. 

Uemura and DOUKI began the match. Uemura had the upper hand with wrestling skill, so DOUKI turned this into a brawl around the ring. DOUKI used his pipe on Uemura on the floor. 

Kidd and Sabre got tags and told a similar story. They had a mini-version of their tournament match from earlier this month, but I think this was way better. Kidd got cut off, then came back with strikes and dropkicks. 

Tsuji and Taichi tagged in for the finish. Taichi was taking Tsuji lightly and Tsuji got a couple of great near falls as a result. Taichi teased tearing off his trousers, but Tsuji rolled him up instead. 

Taichi avoided a Tsuji spear and hit an axe bomber and a backdrop suplex for the pin. 

The Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb defeated Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (8:58)

This was fine. They didn’t get a lot of time, but that’s okay. 

Kojima busted out a flip senton in the shine. That was unexpected. Honma missed a kokeshi and was cut off. Kojima got a tag and hit an elbow drop off the top for a near fall. 

Cobb and Honma got tags. Honma hit a kokeshi. He caught an interfering O-Khan and hit a combination bulldog DDT on both Cobb and O-Khan. 

Cobb came back on Honma and hit a Tour of the Islands for the pin. 

O-Khan cut his customary post-match promo, proclaiming the dominance of United Empire. 

EVIL, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi (w/Dick Togo) defeated YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & SHO (9:24)

This was just to set up challengers for YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishi and Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Six-Man Tag titles. It wasn’t much of a match. 

Bullet Club attacked before the opening bell and went to work on Yano. Togo interfered and aided in the attack on Yano. Yano was able to expose a buckle in one of the neutral corners. Yano managed a tag to SHO, then SHO was cut off. 

EVIL sent SHO into the security fence and the ring announcer took a bump. KENTA tagged in and repeatedly sent SHO into the exposed buckle. YH got a tag and some offense on KENTA. KENTA came back with a DDT on YH and tagged Yujiro. 

Bullet Club worked on YH. Yujiro hit a basement dropkick for a two count, with SHO making the save. YH used a butterfly lock on Yujiro, but EVIL broke it up. 

Togo took the referee. Yujiro hit YH with his cane, then hit Pimp Juice for the pin. 

They played up on commentary that EVIL, KENTA and Yujiro had just beaten a third of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag champs. 

Bullet Club continued their assault after the match. Yano got whipped into the exposed turnbuckle. KENTA attacked YH with his own bo staff. KENTA left with the bo. 

***** Intermission *****

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare (10:10)

Major heel turn vibes coming from Henare here. 

Finlay was selling the damage to his left ankle from last night’s match. He wanted to start off with Naito, but Naito demanded that Juice start instead. 

Juice overcame a sneak attack from BUSHI and got some early offense on Naito. Finlay tagged in and was in the plus position, but was quickly cut off after a dropkick to the bad ankle from Naito. Naito relentlessly mocked Juice throughout the match. 

Finlay was able to come back after a blue thunder bomb. Juice tagged in for another exchange with Naito. Henare was standing on the floor watching instead of on the apron for much of this. Juice finally tagged out to Henare. 

Henare did some power spots with SANADA, then hit a spin kick and a double spear to BUSHI and SANADA. 

SANADA missed with a springboard dropkick. He went for Skull End, but Henare slid out. SANADA used an O’Connor roll for the flash pin on Henare. 

After the match, Juice and Finlay walked to the back on their own, leaving Henare at ringside. Henare threw a fit and attacked the barricade in frustration at taking another loss. 

Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (11:31)

Good storytelling in this match as they continue to tease a rivalry between Ibushi and Okada even as they team together. 

After an early surge of offense from Tanahashi, Bullet Club turned this into a brawl. Gedo interfered on the outside. Okada ended up the legal man and was cut off in the Bullet club half of the ring. 

Fale knocked Ibushi off the apron. Okada fought for, then finally got a slam on Fale. White tagged in as Okada looked to make a tag. Okada hit a big boot and tagged Tana as Ibushi was still on the floor. 

White blocked a slingblade. White and Tana did a series of standing switches, endiing with White hitting a DDT. White hit a blade buster for a two count. 

Owens got a tag and Tana made a tag to Ibushi after hitting a slap. Ibushi hit a flying mid kick and a standing moonsault for a two count. 

Everyone jumped in for a big move. Tanahashi hit slingblades on Fale and Owens and a dragon screw on White. Ibushi hit a v-trigger and a Kamigoye on Owens for the pin. 

Okada stuck around only long enough to get his hand raised after the match. White had staredowns with both Tanahashi and Ibushi over their titles. 

New Japan Cup final: Will Ospreay (w/Bea Priestley, The Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) defeated Shingo Takagi to win the 2021 New Japan Cup (30:06) 

This was a gripping 30 minutes. They crafted a great mix of psychology and every move under the sun to put together a great match. 

They traded strikes and tackles to begin. Ospreay kipped up off a Shingo tackle. Ospreay countered out of a Made in Japan attempt. Shingo blocked an Oscutter attempt. 

The fight went to the floor. Shingo sent Ospreay into the barricade and worked on Ospreay’s bad right arm. Ospreay has a broken nose as well, so Shingo raked the nose. Back inside, Shingo hit a tackle. Ospreay flipped out of a vertical suplex attempt and hit a cutter. Ospreay hit a handspring kick. 

They went back to the floor. This time, Ospreay sent Shingo into the fence. Ospreay tore at the tape on Shingo’s back and went after the injury. Ospreay hit a backdrop on the barricade. Shingo beat the count back inside. 

Ospreay continued to go after Shingo’s back with kicks, forearm strikes and stomps. Ospreay used a body scissors. Shingo avoided a charge into the corner, but Ospreay followed up right away with pip pip cheerio for a two count. 

Shingo came back with strikes and a DDT. Ospreay avoided a sliding lariat. Shingo caught Ospreay off a handspring kick attempt and hit a pop-up death valley driver. Shingo sent Ospreay outside. Priestley acted as a human shield, which allowed Ospreay to post Shingo. 

Ospreay set up a table on the outside. They did a series of table bump teases. Priestley moved the table out of the way. Ospreay again used Priestley as a shield to avoid a baseball slide. Shingo hit a snake eyes and a pop-up powerbomb for a two count. 

Shingo used an STF. Ospreay forced a rope break. Shingo hit Noshigami for a two count. Ospreay came back with a lariat. Shingo blocked a running boot in the corner and teased a driver off the second rope. Ospreay blocked and hit a gamengiri. 

Ospreay hit a top rope Spanish Fly for a near fall. Shingo blocked another Oscutter attempt. Ospreay slid out of a Noshigmai attempt. Shingo hit a lariat. They traded strikes. Shingo hit an unanswered series of strikes. Ospreay answered with a hook kick. 

Ospreay did an amazing flip out of a pumping bomber attempt and hit an Oscutter. Shingo kicked out at two. They fought back to the outside. Ospreay hit an Oscutter off the post to the floor, which was insane. 

Ospreay placed Shingo on the table. Ospreay hit a 450 splash off the top rope to the floor through the table. They teased a countout. Ibushi was at the commentary table. Shingo used an Ibushi towel to wipe his brow, then Ibushi encouraged Shingo to get back in. Shingo beat the count. 

Ospreay hit an immediate springboard dropkick, then a shooting star press for a near fall. Ospreay went for a Stormbreaker. Shingo sprawled out. Ospreay hit some Kawada kicks. Shingo did a dead-eye stare and no-sold a series of kicks. 

Shingo hit a series of strikes in the corner. Ospreay avoided a pumping bomber and hit London Falling. Shingo hit Made in Japan for a near fall. Shingo hit a lariat. Ospreay answered with a crucifix for a near fall. Shingo hit a poison rana. 

Ospreay turned a pumping bomber attempt into a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Ospreay hit a high kick and two rolling elbows. Ospreay hit a Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker for the pin. 

**********

Ospreay cut a promo after the match. He said that everyone doubted him, but he told everyone he would win the New Japan Cup and he did. 

Ospreay called Ibushi into the ring. Ospreay said he didn’t care about the lineage of the Intercontinental or IWGP Heavyweight titles, but he cared about being number one. He said it pains him, but Ibushi is number one. He said he’ll do anything it takes to take the IWGP World Heavyweight title from Ibushi. 

Ospreay hit an Oscutter on Priestley to drive home the point that he’ll do whatever it takes. The audience didn’t know what to make of that. There was just stunned silence after the crowd had been very receptive to his promo. 

Ospreay’s comments continued backstage. He said he has a family and a 5-year relationship with Bea, but if he can do that to someone he loves, what the f*** is he going to do to Ibushi?

Ospreay said he’s the leader of NJPW, not Ibushi. He said he fulfills his destiny at Sakura Genesis and becomes the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. 

NJPW Power Struggle live results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW’s biggest remaining stop on the road to the Tokyo Dome takes place tonight as the Edion Arena in Osaka hosts Power Struggle.

The show will be headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Kota Ibushi, who beat him when they matched up in this summer’s G1 Climax. The winner will be virtually guaranteed to defend their title in one of the top matches at Wrestle Kingdom.

In the show’s other title matches, Trent Barreta will have his biggest test at heavyweight yet as he challenges for Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States title, there will be another match in the Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll rivalry as they face off with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on the line, and Minoru Suzuki will defend his NEVER Openweight title against Toru Yano in a bullrope match.

The show’s undercard has the finals of this year’s Super Junior Tag Team Tournament (with Sho & Yoh taking on Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH), a Chaos vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon tag match, the reveal of the wrestler who has been billed as “Switchblade,” and more. Join us for live coverage starting at 2:40 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

David Finlay defeated Katsuya Kitamura

This was a pretty basic pre-show match. Finlay missed two shows on the road to Power Struggle tour due to a shoulder injury, and Kitamura focused on his shoulder when he was on offense.

Finlay tried to take Kitamura down with shoulder blocks but was knocked down before grabbing a headlock. Finlay hit headbutts into the corner, a corner splash, and got a two count.

Finlay went for a suplex but was blocked by Kitamura, who hit a suplex of his own as he took over with chops. Kitamura took Finlay down with a shoulder block until Finlay came back with a DDT. He went for a cutter, but Kitamura shoved him off and hit a spear for two.

Kitamura got the better of some strikes and focused back on the shoulder, but Finlay ended up hitting a backbreaker on his knee. He hit a cutter/stunner for the win. After the match, Finlay urged Kitamura to get up and they showed each other respect.

The Young Bucks defeated Dragon Lee & Titan

Good match that put the Bucks over pretty strongly. They won with a new submission, the Cease and Desist, which is a combination crossface/sharpshooter.

Dragon Lee and Titan motioned crotch chops to the Bucks prior to the match. Nick Jackson and Dragon Lee started off with fast-paced counters, with it ending when they went for simultaneous dropkicks and posed when they came back to their feet. The Bucks went for the Indytaker until it was foiled and Dragon Lee and Titan hit dives to the outside.

Dragon Lee and Titan used double-team offense until the Bucks took over. Matt Jackson locked in the Sharpshooter on Dragon Lee as Nick tried to keep Titan away. They used stereo Sharpshooters, but both got to the ropes. Matt went for a superkick, though he ended up hitting Nick. They recovered and hit a rope-assisted double-team senton, but it only got two.

The Bucks set up for the Indytaker again, with Dragon Lee giving Nick a hurricanrana off the apron to the floor. A big sequence ended with Titan hitting a springboard moonsault onto everyone on the outside. Matt caught Titan on a dive back in the ring. The Bucks hit The Indytaker and used a the Cease and Desist (combination sharpshooter/crossface), for the win.

KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, Jushin Thuder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Hirai Kawato defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Taka Michinoku & Taichi

Suzuki-gun jumped the faces at the the bell and Sabre went after Robinson on the barricade, going after his hair. El Desperado and Kanemaru focused on Liger and Tiger Mask’s masks on the inside.

Liger locked on the Romero special, though Kanemaru broke it up. He hit double DDTs on Kanemaru and Desperado, then tagged in Robinson. Robinson and Sabre went at it with strikes. Sabre locked on the Octopus hold, but Robinson was able to hit a gut buster and tag in KUSHIDA.

Michinoku gave KUSHIDA an eye poke, with Suzuki-gun going after the faces again after as it broke down into a brawl. KUSHIDA used the Hoverboard Lock on Michinoku until Sabre got one of his own on KUSHIDA. Kawato hit a big dropkick to break it up, the babyfaces got some shine spots (including a dive by Kawato), and KUSHIDA submitted Michinoku with the Hoverboard Lock.

Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe defeated Cody, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

Cody was wearing the ROH World Championship as the Bullet Club made their entrance. He offered Tenzan a handshake and wanted him to kiss his ring before they started, but Tenzan refused. Bullet Club attacked the faces at the start, but Tenzan and Kojima ended up using double-team offense on Owens. Tenzan had the upper hand on Owens until the Bullet Club used the numbers game to gain the advantage.

Bullet Club isolated Tenzan and made tags in and out. He was able to get a tag to Makabe, who ran wild with powerslams on all three Bullet Club members. He hit clotheslines to the corner and punches on Cody, getting a two count after a shoulder block. Cody made a comeback and hit the Disaster Kick. Tenzan gave Cody a lariat as both went down, with them making tags to Kojima and Owens.

Kojima hit his Machine Gun chops and was in control until the heels again got the upper hand. Makabe hit a double lariat on Cody and Yujiro, with Kojima getting the win for the faces with a lariat of his own.

Sho & Yoh (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH to win the Super Junior Tag Team Tournament

This was a really good match and a fitting tournament final. The story of it was that ACH was trying to overcome a rib injury that Sho and Yoh kept focusing on. He was able to fight through the pain at times while selling his ribs, with Taguchi trying to play hero when he was left alone.

It was hyped up on commentary that Sho and Yoh were trying to become the first team to win the tournament while junior tag champs.

At the start, Taguchi kept hitting hip strikes on Sho and Yoh in opposite corners as ACH urged him to keep going, Sho and Yoh then gained control, hitting separate dives on the outside.

Back in the ring, they worked over ACH and focused on his injured ribs with strikes and holds. ACH briefly had the advantage with chops until Sho was tagged in and went back to work on his ribs. He used an abdominal stretch, with Yoh coming back in and hitting a dropkick to the ribs. ACH hit a double stomp and finally made the tag, with Taguchi coming in and using more hip attacks.

Taguchi ran wild with a plancha, another dive to the outside, a springboard hip attack, and an ankle lock. He went for the Three Amigos, but Sho countered. They exchanged strikes, Taguchi hit an enzuigiri, and Yoh was tagged in.

Taguchi hit a hip attack and made the tag to ACH, who wasselling his ribs heavily. He struggled to get to the top rope and missed a frog splash, further hurting his ribs. Yoh used strikes until ACH came back with some of his own. They traded some more strikes before Sho and Yoh hit stereo jumping knees. ACH countered and fought both off briefly. They focused back on ACH, but Taguchi came in for the save.

Taguchi and ACH used more hip attacks, Taguchi hit the Dodon, ACH connected with the Midnight Star, but the pin was broken up. Taguchi and ACH tried to finish it before Sho made the save. Sho and Yoh took back over on offense. ACH tried to make a comeback but was hit with a lungblower, a shotgun dropkick, and Roppongi 3K’s tag team finisher for the win.

– With no apparent challengers for the Tokyo Dome show, The Young Bucks came back out and challenged Sho and Yoh after they had received their trophies. Matt Jackson called them young boys while saying the Bucks are the best tag team in pro wrestling and want the junior heavyweight tag titles back. Romero got on the mic to accept the Bucks’ challenge.

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI

They had a fairly standard tag match that further built to Okada and Naito’s Tokyo Dome main event. Naito hit Okada with bodyslams on the entranceway, they later went at it in the ring, and Okada hit a tombstone on Naito before pinning BUSHI.

Ishii and EVIL started off by trying to knock each other down. They kept charging into each other, exchanged strikes, then EVIL finally knocked Ishii off his feet. YOSHI-HASHI and Takahashi took their turn in the ring next before things broke down on the outside and Naito laid out Okada with the bodyslams on the entranceway.

Back in the ring, BUSHI worked over YOSHI-HASHI before tagging in SANADA. YOSHI-HASHI fought off SANADA and Naito before getting the tag to Goto. Goto went to work, hitting a Saito suplex on SANADA for a two count. He fought off the Paradise Lock went for the GTR as they battled back and forth, They made tags to Naito and Okada (who had recovered) as those two faced off in advance of their main event at Wrestle Kingdom.

Okada had the advantage until Naito started to focus on his neck. Okada came back with a neckbreaker and tried to get the tag to Gedo, but BUSHI cut him off after getting the tag from Naito. All of Los Ingobernables focused on Okada, hitting him with a triple-team dropkick.

Okada dodged the MX and Chaos regained control. Okada went for a tombstone, with BUSHI getting out of it before being hit with a dropkick and an elbow drop. Naito tried to attack Okada, but Okada took him out with a tombstone and pinned BUSHI with the Rainmaker while doing Naito’s eye pose.

– NJPW announced a return to Long Beach on March 25th, 2018 at Walter Pyramid.

NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki defeated Toru Yano in a bullrope match to retain his title

For better or worse, they had the match you’d expect. They brawled and used the bullrope a lot, Suzuki-gun interfered, and Suzuki retained with a delayed Gotch-style piledriver while the rope was around Yano’s neck.

Commentary explained the bullrope stipulation by saying it would keep Yano from doing his outside-the-ring-antics and would prevent Suzuki from using chairs and other foreign objects, but that didn’t end up happening. Yano attacked Suzuki before this started, choking him with the rope until Suzuki-gun came into the ring to stop him.

Suzuki immediately dragged Yano with the rope on the outside. He went for the Gotch piledriver on the entranceway until Yano fought it off. Suzuki choked him with the rope, shoved the referee, and threw Yano into the barricade as they fought on the outside.

Suzuki continued working on Yano in the ring. Kanemaru and Desperado attacked Yano on the outside while Suzuki distracted the ref, but Goto ran in for the save. Suzuki locked in an armbar and wrenched back while the rope was wrapped around Yano’s neck. Yano wouldn’t quit and got his foot on the ropes.

Takashi Iizuka made his way down the entranceway and drew the attention of the referee as Suzuki wrapped up Yano in the ropes. Suzuki tried to use a chair until the referee stopped him, with Yano knocking them down, using the chair, and hitting a powerbomb until the ref was pulled out of the ring. Iizuka and Taichi attacked Yano. Iizuka tried to use the iron claw, but Yano was able to counter and get a small package on Suzuki for a near fall.

For the finish, Suzuki choked Yano with the rope and hit a delayed Gotch-style piledriver while the rope was still around Yano’s neck.

Marty Scurll defeated Will Ospreay to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

They had a really good match that was constantly back-and-forth with a lot of spots. They always deliver when they wrestle each other and this was the biggest stage they’ve faced each other on.

For the surprise finish, Scurll caught Ospreay with a pin as they were doing pinning combinations. Ospreay was arguing about the finish after the match until KUSHIDA came down. KUSHIDA was there to challenge Scurll, but Ospreay told him to back off.

Hiromu Takahashi made his way to the ring to challenge Scurll as well, putting on a helmet and gloves in case things turned physical. Scurll said he would face all three of them in a fatal four-way match, presumably at Wrestle Kingdom.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defeated Trent Barreta to retain his title

Another strong match; probably the best on the show so far. In his biggest spot yet at heavyweight, Barreta was positioned as an underdog who was able to have a few moments where he seemed on the verge of upsetting Omega.

Omega was dominant for much of the start. He got out a table and suplexed Barreta on it (while it was upside down and not folded out). Omega then hit a foot stomp on the table with Barreta under it, then hit the Terminator dive to the outside.

Omega worked him over back in the ring until Barreta got his knees up on a moonsault. Omgea briefly regained control with a German suplex until Barreta hit a tornado DDT. Omega then backdropped Barreta on the apron.

They were teasing an emphatic win for Omega at this point, but Barreta came back and teased an upset. He hit a piledriver on Omega in the ring and another one on the apron. Omega was positioned on a table on the outside, Barreta went for a flip dive, but Omega moved and he went crashing through the table. Barreta barely made it back in, with Omega hitting him with dragon suplexes in the ring.

Barreta tried to fight back, but Omega hit a V-Trigger and a gutwrench powerbomb. Omega hit another V-Trigger and went for the One Winged Angel until Barreta countered and hit a lariat out of desperation. Omega hit another knee strike, but Barreta got a great near fall with a Dudebuster. Omega focused on the back with strikes. Barreta fired up, but Omega hit another knee strike and a reverse rana.

After Baretta got another great near fall on a crucifix pin, Omega hit the One Winged Angel for the victory.

– For as good as that was, it was entirely overshadowed by what happened after. Omega got on the mic, welcoming Barreta to the heavyweight division and calling out his next challenger. It was teased that there was no one left to challenge Omega. He bid everyone goodbye and goodnight, but a video aired with Chris Jericho saying he’s the best in the world and challenging Omega to a match at Wrestle Kingdom.

Omega accepted, and 2018 is already shaping up to be quite a year in pro wrestling.

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kota Ibushi to retain his title

Great main event. It topped Omega vs. Barreta for best match on the show. Tanahashi focused on Ibushi’s knee early, which played into the rest of the match.

Late in the match, Ibushi got a near fall off of an awkward looking rana off the top rope. He went for the Kamigoye, but Tanahashi fought him off until Ibushi hit a lawndart into the corner. Ibushi went for the deadlift German suplex after not being able to hit it earlier in the match, this time getting a near fall.

Ibushi went for a Phoenix Splash, but Tanahashi avoided it. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow, with Ibushi avoiding that. Both were down before getting to their feet and exchanging slaps. Ibushi no-sold a slap from Tanahashi, firing back with palm strikes. They traded stiff slaps, with Ibushi sending Tanahashi to the corner. Ibushi got a close near fall with a Last Ride and went for another one, but Tanahashi got out of it as Ibushi’s knee gave out. Ibushi connected with a kick to the head and was going for the Kamigoye, with Tanahashi countering into a sling blade. He hit a dragon suplex for two and two High Fly Flows to retain.

Tanahashi and Ibushi embraced after and Tanahashi closed the show with his usual air guitar routine until he was interrupted by Switchblade, who was revealed to be Jay White. White came down and confronted Tanahashi. They exchanged forearms and White laid him out.

With that, it appears that the top three matches at Wrestle Kingdom will be Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals live results: KUSHIDA vs. Ospreay

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The 24th annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament concludes tonight, with the winner very likely getting the next Junior Heavyweight title shot at Dominion.

Will Ospreay, the winner of last year’s tournament, takes on KUSHIDA in the main event. They have faced off twice in the last year, with KUSHIDA winning both times. It makes all the sense in the world for KUSHIDA to win as the last few months he’s been looking to regain the Junior Heavyweight title from Hiromu Takahashi, suffering some embarrassing losses along the way. But with Ospreay 0-2 against KUSHIDA, he too has something to prove by winning this match.

The undercard includes a number of tag team bouts, some leading towards Dominion on June 11th. In the co-main event, Kazuchika Okada teams with Gedo to battle Kenny Omega & Marty Scurll.

Meanwhile, Hirooki Goto will team with YOSHI-HASHI to take on Minoru Suzuki & Taichi in a tag team match. War Machine will also be in action, teaming with David Finlay & ACH against Guerrillas of Destiny, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi.

Our live coverage begins at 4 a.m. ET. The show will air live on New Japan World and there will be English commentary available.

**********

Yuji Nagata, Tamayuki Oka and Shota Umino defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Katsuya Kitamura and Tetsuhiro Yagi

Nagata is Oka’s mentor and Nakanishi is Kitamura’s mentor, so there’s sort of a storyline to this match.Yagi looked really good here for his experience level. He’s one of the newer young lions, debuting earlier last month and this was probably the first match where he stood out. He took the fall, with Oka submitting him with the Boston crab.

Tomohiro Ishii, Jado and Toru Yano defeated Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hirai Kawato

Kawato and Ishii had some good chemistry with one another, and it showed. the crowd were super into their back and forth towards the end. Everyone else was just there for the normal six man tag fare. Ishii absorbed a dropkick then blasted Kawato with a lariat for the win.

Volador Jr., Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Taka Michinoku

In terms of ability Volador Jr. was head and shoulders above everyone else, showing a great amount of agility. Match didn’t last long, as Volador got the win after an average match with the hurricanrana off the top rope.

They played Jushin Thunder Liger’s music after the match, as this is the last match on the tour and this is his last Best of the Super Junior tournament.

Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Guerillas of Destiny defeated War Machine, ACH and David Finlay

This picked up towards the end. ACH hit a huge suicide dive that kinda took out Fale, but more like crashed headfirst into the announce table.. Hanson flew off the top rope with a big somersault senton, wiping out everyone except Yujiro and Finlay. They had a nice back and forth until Takahashi laid out Finlay with the pimp juice DDT for the win.

Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Minoru Suzuki & Taichi

Suzuki immediately jumped Goto at the bell and posted him on the outside. Big brawl, the normal in Suzuki-gun matches. It seems like ever since they came back in January they’ve inherited all the shenanigans the other heel groups used to do.

Suzuki and Goto had some nice exchanges, but other than that it was your usual Suzuki-gun match. At one point Taichi looked like he was about to win with his superkick when YOSHI-HASHI tried to counter with a rollup, but Taichi took down the referee in the process. This allowed all of Suzuki-gun, who were out there just because, to freely interfere.

Kanemaru was going for the whiskey spot they’ve been doing on this tour when he accidently sprayed Taichi, allowing YOSHI-HASHI to lay him out, then planted Taichi with Karma for the win.

Suzuki was none too happy bout that finish, opting to completely destroy one of the young lions with a steel chair after the match.

Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, BUSHI and SANADA defeated Juice Robinson, Ricochet, Ryusuke Taguchi, Dragon Lee and Satoshi Kojima

Naito at this point was far and away the biggest star in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Gymnasium, generating a massive pop when his music hit. Dragon Lee and Hiromu Takahashi had a hot exchange early in the match. Ricochet followed and looked excellent. Boiled down to a fast paced, action packed, very good match. Naito blocked Kojima’s lariat hit an atomic drop with with EVIL’S assistance was able to hit the Destino for the win.

Naito started to do an interview when Hiroshi Tanahashi arrived in street clothes, also getting a big ovation. They exchanged words, with the gist of it being Tanahashi is feeling fine and will make it to Dominion. Naito threw the belt and walked off, the storyline being he doesn’t care for the title so is actively destroying it physically. Tanahashi held it high before leaving. 

Kenny Omega and Marty Scurll defeated Kazuchika Okada and Gedo

Heels worked on Gedo for a good while, even threw in some comedy with Scurll’s umbrella. Gedo finally tagged in Okada as he ran wild on both Bullet Club members. Omega holds back Okada as Scurll takes down Gedo with the chickenwing.

Okada breaks it up, but in the process Omega takes down the ref. Scurll distracts Okada long enough for Omega to jump him, allowing Scurll to lay out Gedo with a piledriver. One chickenwing later gives the win to Scurll in a good match.

KUSHIDA defeated Will Ospreay to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament

Tremendous match, one of the best junior heavyweight matches of the year, and this is the year where Hiromu Takahashi and Dragon Lee have been tearing things up. Insane spots, great callbacks and overall excellent work and heat…can’t ask for much more in a pro wrestling match, and these two managed to capture all of that.

They start things off slow, feeling each other out. Things heat up when KUSHIDA smacks Ospreay with his feet, then hitting a huge tope con hilo to the outside. KUSHIDA throws Ospreay off his shoulders, causing him to land knees first on the floor, tweaking one of them in the process.

Both KUSHIDA and Ospreay wind up battling on the top rope, with KUSHIDA grabbing the elbow as they both jump down, with Ospreay’s arm landing awkwardly. KUSHIDA builds momentum, working on the arm until Ospreay sends him out with an enziguri and follows with a fosbury flop.

Ospreay continues to build momentum, but KUSHIDA gains the advantage after getting the knees up following a corkscrew attempt by Ospreay. KUSHIDA goes to the top rope, but Ospreay meets him there as they fight. KUSHIDA ends up being draped on the top rope and Ospreay hits a shooting star press, sending KUSHIDA to the apron. 

Ospreay drills KUSHIDA with a reverse rana on the apron and follows with a Canadian destroyer DDT. Ospreay goes for the Ozcutter but KUSHIDA springboards and catches him with an armbar. Ospreay somehow finds the strength to buckle bomb KUSHIDA and hits a cutter for a nearfall. Ospreay hits the Robinson special but KUSHIDA ducks the Ozcutter and responds with one of his own.

KUSHIDA fights for the hoverboard lock but Ospreay fights back, leading to a crazy exchange of offense. KUSHIDA gets the better of it and stomps Ospreay’s head repeatedly. KUSHIDA gets the hoverboard lock in for a long while, but Ospreay refuses to submit. KUSHIDA goes for the Back to the Future but Ospreay counters with a stunner. He hits the imploding 450 splash, the move that got the title for him last year, but KUSHIDA kicks out. 

A frustrated Ospreay hits multiple cheeky nandos kicks as he looks to do something on the top rope once more. KUSHIDA hits the Back to the Future off the top rope and to the floor. He then follows with one more to win the match and the tournament.

KUSHIDA hugs WIll Ospreay after the match in a show of respect. The trophy is handed to KUSHIDA. He cuts a promo, thanking Ospreay. He managed to get people to do the wave, and sure enough all of the arena did the wave, even the announcers. 

KUSHIDA has all of the babyface participants in the ring to congratulate them on the conclusion of the tournament, then calls in Liger, who gets in the ring to celebrate. The confetti flies as KUSHIDA goes into the crowd and celebrates with the fans as the show closes. 

Final Thoughts:

The main event, obviously, is something to watch as it’s one of the best junior heavyweight matches of the year, and probably in the top ten of the year overall. The rest of the card was fine, though nothing special. This was a one match show, and that one match exceeded my expectations big time.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale

Posted on by Bryan Rose

NJPW’s Wrestling Dontaku event takes place tonight in Fukuoka with three titles on the line.

In the main event, Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale, who destroyed him mercilessly following a tough title defense against Katsuyori Shibata at Sakura Genesis. In the buildup to this match, Fale has been using Okada’s tombstone to his advantage, even pinning Okada once with the maneuver in a tag match. It will be interesting to see if Fale’s new move plays a role tonight.

In the co-main event, Kenny Omega will take on Tomohiro Ishii. It seems based on positioning, whoever wins this match may challenge the winner of the main event in the future.

The other title matches include War Machine defending the IWGP Tag Team titles against Tencozy and Guerrillas of Destiny in a three-way bout. The NEVER Six-Man titles are also on the line as champions Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi) defend against Los Ingobernable members EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI. 

The card rounds off with Cody taking on David Finlay, a six-man tag match featuring Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W & Togi Makabe taking on Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata, and other assorted six-man and regular tag team matches.

Announcements for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament are also expected.

Our live coverage begins at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT. There will be English commentary for the show on NJPW World.

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Yoshitatsu and Hirai Kawato defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Takayuki Oka

This was an okay opener. Yoshitatsu worked a lot of the match. When Oka and Kawato were in it was pretty good. Oka has the makings of a future star and Kitamura will probably be one too due to his immense size. After some back and forth, Yoshitatsu grapevined Kitamura’s legs and rolled him on his stomach for a submission win.

YOSHI-HASHI and Will Ospreay defeated Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens

Perfectly fine match that the crowd was into. Owens and YOSHI-HASHI worked a lot of the match. Ospreay came in to do his great Fosbury flop. Owens went for the package piledriver but YOSHI-HASHI escaped and locked in Karma for the submission. 

Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W and Togi Makabe defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi

This was pretty good. Tiger Mask W looked great and the finishing moments where both Tiger Masks did dives to the floor was cool too. Togi Makabe took out Nakanishi then pinned him with the King Kong knee drop.

Hirooki Goto, Roppongi Vice, Jado and Toru Yano defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki

I liked this match as it was one of those matches where everyone battled one another, keeping the action hot throughout. A lot of typical Suzuki-gun stuff with the brawling around the ring, Taichi using the bell hammer, etc. Goto picked up the win for his team with the GTR on Taka Michinoku. 

Suzuki came into the ring after the match and had a pull apart brawl. After everyone was separated, Suzuki cut a promo, saying don’t let your Chaos stablemates hold you back. They got in another fight before eventually bailing.  

Cody defeated David Finlay

Cody waffled Finlay with an Alabama Slam on the mat early. Mostly solid back and forth, nothing too fancy but was perfectly alright. Finlay went for an uppercut off the top rope but Cody grabbed him and transitioned into the Crossroads for the win.

Cody takes the mic after the match, telling New Japan to bring him someone bigger, someone stronger. They will find out what everyone already knows in their bones and in their soul — the worst nightmare happens when your eyes are open, and it’s me.

Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA and Juice Robinson

This was pretty good, the action was hot and there’s a big story here based on how the situation between KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi is unfolding. KUSHIDA became a wildman the minute he and Hiromu interacted, brawling all over the arena. Naito came him and gave him a bodyslam on a raised platform in the crowd. KUSHIDA looked great in this match, came off as super aggressive following the big loss last month. He wiped both of his opponents out with a big tope con hilo. Naito throws Juice into the barricade and helps Takahashi lay out KUSHIDA, allowing Takahashi to pick up the win over KUSHIDA after laying him out with the time bomb.

Here are the brackets for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament:

A Block
Jushin Thunder Liger
Ricochet
Dragon Lee 
Will Ospreay
Marty Scurll
Taichi 
Taka Michinoku
Hiromu Takahashi

B Block
Tiger Mask
Ryusuke Taguchi
KUSHIDA
Volador Jr
ACH 
Kanemaru
Desperado 
BUSHI

War Machine defeated Guerillas of Destiny and Tencozy to retain the IWGP tag team titles

This was good as action was frequent throughout, crowd was hot and everyone worked well together. War Machine is one of the hardest working teams out there which is pretty amazing given their size. A lot of spots between all three teams. Tenzan went for a moonsault but Rowe grabbed him and Hanson landed with Fallout, giving them the win.

War Machine bowed to the fans after the match, but Guerillas of Destiny used this as an opportune time to jump them after the match with the belts, Tama Tonga saying “This is ours”, so they’re staying the course with this feud..

EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi to win the NEVER Six Man titles

There was one point of the match where Taguchi was isolated on the top rope as all of LIJ were staring at him. He tried to make his way by them but got destroyed. All three of the faces eventually managed stereo ankle locks. Tanahashi hit the sling blade and went for the high fly flow but EVIL got the knees up.

Taguchi gains the advantage for his team and secures another ankle lock. BUSHI taps, but the referee it out of the ring recovering from a bump. Taguchi releases the hold but BUSHI mists him in response. He lays him out with the MX but Taguchi’s teammates break it up. SANADA and EVIL lay them both out and BUSHI hits the MX for the second time to win the titles. Really great match with lots of good tandem work and some pretty fun spots.

Kenny Omega defeated Tomohiro Ishii

A completely tremendous match, easily the best thing on the show and a true testament to both men’s skills. They kept a high pace for the majority of the match and never felt like it was dull.

They start off hot early, hitting Omega at one point in the match hit a big time crossbody off the top rope and through the barricade. They go back into the ring and trade one hot move after another. Omega tries for the One Winged Angel but Ishii blocks and hits a lariat, then hits another but Omega kicks out. Ishii hits his version of the One Winged Angel except hit turns into a neckbreaker on the knee.

Omega fires back with a reverse rana and a giant lariat, still a part of this match. He hits the v-trigger then goes for the One Winged Angel but Ishii counters with a reverse rana. Yep, you read that right. He hits a lariat after that but doesn’t get it.

They go into a forearm battle, with Ishii losing after Omega switches to a knee under the chin. A second brings Ishii down. Omega follows with a brainbuster than lands the One Winged Angel for the win.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title

Great main event with some really great callbacks to other matches on this tour. They made Fale look like a super strong challenger, dominating Okada throughout. The story with the tombstone played well here too because not only did he manage to land one of his own on Fale, he also kicked out Fale’s tombstone too. 

Okada tries to gain an advantage early but Fale easily dominates. He takes him to the outside where he teases a Bad Luck Fall, but Okada escapes. Fale instead manages to ram Okada’s back to the ring post. Fale works him over for a while until Okada comes back with a DDT, then takes Fale to the outside where he flies over the guardrail, taking down Fale with a crossbody.

He tries for a bodyslam, or even his tombstone, but Fale manages to overpower him each time he tries to execute. Fale tries to charge him in a corner but Okada instead dropkicks him in the opposite corner. Okada hits the elbow and tries for a rainmaker but Fale counters with a bear hug. He hits the grenade but Okada kicks out. Fale tries for the tombstone but Okada escapes, then manages to land a dropkick. He tries once again for a tombstone…and it connects! He tries for the rainmaker but Fale immediately comes back with a clothesline of his own and follows that with a spear.

Fale goes for the Bad Luck Fall but Okada escapes, so instead he follows with the grenade then lands the tombstone he’s been delivering to Okada on the tour, but Okada kicks out of it. He follows with another Bad Luck Fall attempt, but Okada escapes and manages to hit a rainmaker, then two, then pins Fale with a third.

The rest of Bullet Club, including Kenny Omega, come out after the match to tend to Fale. After a short ceremony, Okada takes a mic and calls out Omega, who was helping Fale to the back. He comes to the ring and they have a staredown. Omega then makes his exit but not before making comments to the camera about Okada not being the champion people want. 

Gedo takes the mic from here and cuts a promo to close out the show. Kevin Kelly mentioned that the next IWGP title match would most likely be at Dominion.

NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Okada vs. Shibata

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Big title matches headline New Japan’s Sakura Genesis PPV late tonight, streaming live on New Japan World from Sumo Hall. The show will feature English commentary, with Kevin Kelly and Don Callis calling the action.

2017 New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata challenges IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in the main event. Aside from a G1 bout from 2013, they have been kept largely apart, which should make it an intriguing bout.

In the co-main event, we have a Wrestle Kingdom rematch as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against KUSHIDA. Hirooki Goto will defend the NEVER title against Zack Sabre Jr, Tencozy defends their IWGP tag team titles against ROH’s War Machine, and Suzuki-gun comrades Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defend against Jado & Gedo.

The elusive Tiger Mask W will also make an appearance, teaming with Tiger Mask IV, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata to square off against Chase Owens, Tama Tonga, Tanga Roa & Yujiro Takahashi.

Join us for live coverage starting at 2:40 a.m. EST/11:40 p.m. PST.

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David Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger & Manabu Nakanishi defeated Katsuya Kitamura, Tomoyuki Oka & Hirai Kawato

Young lions jumped their opponents at the bell. Oka and Kitamura put Finlay and Nakanishi in stereo torture racks. Good opener, showcased all the young lions pretty fairly. Kawato looked the most solid out of the three, but Oka and Kitamura will go far if they continue to improve, if only for their size. Finlay came in and hit the diving stunner on Kitamura for the win.

Kawato shoves around Liger after the match, continuing what seems to be a feud of sorts between the two.

Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa defeated Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W, Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe

Standard tag team match which built up to a Tiger Mask W save. He wiped out his opponents on the outside with the Golden Triangle moonsault. Tiger Mask looks to go for the finish, but Owens distracts him long enough to walk right into a gun stun by Tama Tonga for the win.

YOSHI-HASHI and Roppongi Vice defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku & El Desperado

Suzuki jumps YOSHI-HASHI as he poses during his intro, which led to a lot of the match having him be the center of the match. This was fine, but kinda short and never felt super hot or anything. YH fought off against Suzuki and ended up getting the win with Karma on Taka Michinoku for the win.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi defeated Gedo & Jado to retain the IWGP Junior tag team titles

Gedo & Jado started things early as they took down the faces with dual crossfaces but got their comeuppance on the outside. Kanemaru took out Gedo with a legdrop on top of the barricade and Jado was jumped after a distraction by Taichi’s valet. 

Jado made the hot tag and after putting Kanemaru in the crossface nearly had it won, but Desperado pulled the referee out and freely ran in to interfere. Roppongi Vice came in for the save and wiped it out Desperado. Everybody got in at one point, with the finale being Taichi hitting Jado in the throat with the microphone stand. 

He blasted Jado with the superkick and Kanemaru followed with the moonsault, but Jado kicked out. Finally Kanemaru drilled Jado with the DDT off the top rope for the win. Subpar by New Japan title match standards, these four guys don’t mix together well style wise and most of it was ref bumps, brawling and setting up for the future title match.

Roppongi Vice came back in after the match and argued Taichi’s use over the ring bell hammer. Taichi shrugged. They challenged for the junior tag team titles, setting up the next title program.

Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano

Pretty solid match. A lot of the early stuff was Yano comedy, undoing the turnbuckles and the like. Omega and Ishii worked together until Yano low blowed Omega while he was going for the One Winged Angel. Omega rallied back after he whipped Ishii into one of the exposed turnbuckles, hit a few knee strikes then defeated Ishii with the One Winged Angel. 

Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ricochet defeated  EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito 

I liked this match, probably the best out of the tag matches tonight. Lots of good back and forth action. Naito went for the Destino on Robinson but Tanahashi wiped him out with the slingblade. Everyone came in for a bit of offense before it came back down to Naito and Robinson. Naito lifted him up and went for a swift kick to the netheregions but Robinson grabbed his leg, hit Naito with a big punch and pinned him with the Pulp Friction for the biggest win of his career. 

Robinson called out Naito after the match, straight up challenging him to a match for the Intercontinental title. 

G1 location announcements time:

Sapporo 7/17
Korakuen hall 7/20-7/22
Machida 7/23
Fukushima 7/25
Sendai 7/26
Nigata 7/27
Aichi 7/29
Gifu 7/30
Kagoshima 8/1
Fukuoka 8/2
Ehime 8/4
Osaka 8/5
Shizuoka 8/6
Yokohama 8/8
Sumo Hall 8/11-8/13

War Machine defeated Tencozy to win the IWGP Tag Team titles

Rowe and Hanson work over Kojima a good while before  finally Kojima gets an opening and tags in Tenzan who cleans house on Rowe. Rowe went to do a double press slam on both Kojima and Tenzan but they countered and laid him out, then moved when Hanson went for a splash, hitting his partner in the process. 

Hanson mounted a comeback but missed a moonsault and ate a cutter. Rowe is tagged in as Hanson hits an assisted pop up powerslam as Rowe covers for a nearfall. Hanson wiped out Tenzan on the outside with a suicide dive. Kojima started to rally and came back with a giant lariat that bent Rowe in half. 

Kojima went for a second lairat but Rowe countered with a German and a knee strike. Hanson launched off the top rope as they hit Fallout to win the IWGP tag team titles in a really good back and forth match.

Tenzan came up to the new champions after the match, saying they wanted one more match. Hanson and Rowe agreed as they shook hands with their opponents and bowed.

Hirooki Goto defeated Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the NEVER Openweight title

I thought this was a pretty good match, not great but very well worked one and Sabre’s offense is so great. Afters some back and forth to start, Sabre gains advantage and focuses on the arm, wrenching the fingers, then takes apart one of Goto’s legs. He twists and torques the body parts in all sorts of painful ways. Goto gets a brief flurry of offense but Sabre transitions into a guillotine, trying to kimura the arm. Goto counters with a suplex. 

Goto went for an elbow, but Sabre grabs one arm, then both and torks one shoulder until Goto gets to the ropes. Sabre continued to wrench until Goto hit the ushigiroshi. Desperado comes in to distrct Goto, leaving him open to be jumped by Suzuki. Goto fights them off, but again is open to Sabre making a comeback.

He goes for a gogoplata but Goto lifts him up and hits a one armed powerbomb. He follows with the GTR to retain the title.

Goto raises the title after the match in front of Suzuki. He didn’t take too kindly to that, making a beeline towards Goto and starting a pull apart brawl. Needless to say, we have a new NEVER title program.

Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA to retain the IWGP Jr. title

This didn’t even get two mintues. KUSHIDA came out flying with a tope con hilo off the top rope to the floor, wiping out Takahashi. KUSHIDA is on the apron when Takahashi counters with a giant sunset flip bomb to the floor. Takahashi takes him inside, hits a running death valley driver into the turnbuckle then pins KUSHIDA with the time bomb just like that. For such a short match, this was pretty fast paced with some crazy moves. 

Kinda surprising the co-main was so short, but I’m probably thinking this is just a storyline for KUSHIDA as he enters the Best of the Super Juniors next month.

Takahashi berates KUSHIDA after the match, posing with the title and eating his wrist tape with a watch drawn on. He continues to beat upon KUSHIDA’s prone body until Ricochet runs in to make the save. He grabs a mic, saying it’s time for the belt to go where it should have gone a long time ago, around his waist. Takahashi slithers away, not really ready to answer.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Katsuyori Shibata to retain the IWGP title

This was an incredible match, I think even exceeding Okada/Omega from the Tokyo Dome earlier this year. As far as intensity goes, this had the most out of anything I’ve seen in a long time. Just stiff, brutal shots and incredible psychology and storytelling. This is one of those matches that you need to go out of your way and see because it’s that good — everything just felt like it was on point and couldn’t be executed any better.

Shibata outwrestled Okada early, sending him to the outside. Okada doesn’t do a clean break and they’re off, striking one another with hard shots. Shibata grinds Okada back down, focusing on the knee but Okada strikes back by crotching Shibata, then sending him down to the floor with a dropkick. 

Shibata starts to absorb punches until he strikes back with one that sends him to his knees. He pelts Okada with punches, sending him to the floor and drilling him with a dropkick, then does it again with the barricade on the outside. 

Okada makes a comeback, doing the rainmaker pose and going for the rainmaker but Shibata counters with an STO. Incredible striking follows. Every strike in this match so far has been on point, in fact. Okada goes for a pin but Shibata grabbed an arm and wrenches it in with an armbar. 

Okada escapes as they get into another scary slap battle. Okada manages to get Shibata into the corner and hits a running dropkick. Shibata follows with a dropkick, similar to Okada’s. He goes for the penalty kick but Okada follows with a dropkick. 

They get back up and start trading some insane offense, including Shibata dropping Okada right on his neck with a German. Okada goes for the rainmaker but Shibata peppers him with kicks. Okada manages to hit it anyway, but Shibata no sells it and hits a giant headbutt, splitting himself open in the process. Gruesome.

After a long abdominal stretch, Shibata kicks Okada in the chest and goes for the sleeper. Okada fights it, getting to his feet, but falling to the floor. He gets back up, but Shibata drills him with a half nelson suplex. He motions like he’s going for the rainmaker but instead slaps him and just DRILLS him with kicks. He goes to whip Okada but he retaliates with the rainmaker.

Maintaining wrist control, Shibata tries to fight back but knows he’s in trouble. Shibata lifts his arm like he is going to block the rainmaker but Okada gets it anyway and pins him to retain the title. Incredible.

Okada prepares to celebrate with the title when Bad Luck Fale ran in and beat him down. He said a bad word on the mic then laid him out with the Bad Luck Fall. Yep, he challenged Okada. Kind of weird as they didn’t even telegraph it with the booking tonight, but I guess we can just go to this well again for a while.

NJPW 45th Anniversary show live results: Okada vs. Tiger Mask W

Posted on by Bryan Rose

New Japan Pro Wrestling will hold its 45th anniversary show early this morning at 5 a.m. ET at Ota City General Gymnasium, the venue where the very first show was held on March 6th, 1972. It will air live on New Japan World, including both Japanese and English commentary.

In the main event, Kazuchika Okada will square off against Tiger Mask W (Kota Ibushi). Tiger Mask W has been decent in the midcard, if not somewhat unspectacular. It will be interesting to see how Ibushi works as Tiger Mask W under a main event scenario, and also with a new mask that’s better fitting. The IWGP title will not be on the line.

However, there will be several title matches on the show. They include Hiromu Takahashi defending the IWGP Jr. title against Ryusuke Taguchi in the co-main event, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defending the IWGP Heavyweight tag titles against Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (replacing Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), Katsuyori Shibata taking on the debuting Zack Sabre Jr. for the RPW British Heavyweight title, and Roppongi Vice defending the IWGP Jr. tag titles against Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.

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Manabu Nakanishi defeated Tomoyuki Oka

Well, I can tell you this: Nakanishi didn’t look entirely awful. And hey, Oka shows promise, though he’s not going to show it in a match against Nakanishi. Regardless, this was fine. Nakanishi submitted him with the torture rack.

Hirooki Goto (NEVER Openweight champion), YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, Gedo and defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Desperado 

This was your standard, eight man New Japan tag team match you’ll find at the start of each show. A lot of action and constant motion. YOSHI-HASHI took out Suzuki and targeted Taka Michinoku, taking him down with Karma and submitting him in a good bout.

Kevin Kelly on commentary gave an update on the condition of Tomoaki Honma. He referred to Chris Charlton’s Twitter, where Charlton mentioned that Honma is regaining feeling in his extremities and notes he would like to return to pro wrestling. Hopefully he takes his time to recover fully.

Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tonga Roa defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata, David Finlay and Tiger Mask

Again, a typical New Japan tag match. I thought the previous match was better, but this was still pretty decent. Tiger Mask worked a lot of the match, selling for the heels. David Finlay tried to go toe to toe with Fale but the rest of the BC laid him to. Omega tried to bodyslam Fale on Finlay but it didn’t work as all the faces entered the ring and made their comeback. It boiled down to Fale and Finlay again at the end, with Fale getting the better of things this time and pinning Finlay with the grenade.

Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Roppongi Vice to win the IWGP Junior tag team titles

Taichi came out with Miho Abe, his manager of sorts for the night. As RPG Vice came out, Kanemaru and Desperado jumped them and worked them over a long time, including Abe slapping Romero and Taichi using the ring well. RPG Vice came back with stereo suicide dives to the outside. 

They land Strong Zero, but a distraction by Desperado allows Taichi and Desperado to lay out the two with belt shots. Kanemaru hits a tilt a whirl DDT, but Romero kicks out. Kanemaru follows with a DDT off the top rope to win the titles for his team. This was fine, but nothing special, though there were one or two good near falls toward the end.

Taichi and Kanemaru continued to lay waste to Roppongi Vice until Jado and Gedo made the save. So whether you like it or not, that’s your next title program.

Sabre came out for the next match with both the PWG and Evolve world titles. That’s an interesting political situation. 

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the RPW British Heavyweight title

They started off with some really great technical mat wrestling. Shibata wraps Sabre’s wrists around his neck, but Sabre reverses it. Shibata manages to counter before they break. Sabre works on the injured shoulder of Shibata.comes back with a penalty kick attempt but Sabre does a fake out and takes down Shibata with a gogoplata. 

From there, he then transitions into a double arm scissors. This had some really great technical wrestling and different than other New Japan matches, really cool to see. Shibata puts Sabre in a sleeper then drills him with a half dragon suplex. 

Minoru Suzuki comes in out of nowhere and begins to distract Shibata as he was going for the penalty kick. Shibata instead attacks Suzuki, but it was all a ploy as Davey Boy Smith Jr. runs in and lays him out. Suzuki puts him in the sleeper and allows Sabre to hit the penalty kick to pin Shibata, winning the title.

Sabre Jr. and the rest of Suzuki-gun put the boots to Shibata after the match. Suzuki cut a promo officially welcoming Zack Sabre Jr. as the newest member of Suzuki-gun as the stable posed for photos.  

Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano to win the IWGP Heavyweight tag team titles

Ishii and Kojima worked together and it was awesome, they had a back and forth slap battle that felt like it lasted a full minute. Kojima did the kokeshi on Yano as a tribute to Makabe. Kojima ran into Yano’s exposed turnbuckle but kicked out of a roll up attempt. Kojima missed a lariat, ate a headbutt by Ishii and Yano followed with a roll up but Kojima still kicked out. 

Tenzan tagged in, was about to be slingshotted into an Ishii lariat but he countered with a  headbutt. Kojima took out Yano with another kokeshi as Tenzan took down Ishii with the anaconda vise, then Kojima hit one more lariat to win the IWGP tag team titles for his team in a good little match.

Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi came out to celebrate with the new champions after the match.

BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL (NEVER Six Man Tag Team champions) and Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Intercontinental champion) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Micheal Elgin and KUSHIDA

This was another eight man match full of action, probably the best out of the three tonight. Elgin and Sanada worked a lot together and was pretty good. KUSHIDA and BUSHI also worked together for a time. Naito and Juice were the two left in the ring towards the end of the match, with Naito scoring the win for his team with the Destino.

EVIL took out Tanahashi, who are scheduled to face one another in the New Japan Cup preliminary round, with a new submission as LIJ stood tall.

Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title

They started off having a nice back and forth affair. Then it got real interesting as Takahashi started laying in the slaps. Taguchi followed, and the comedy was over as he took down Takahashi with some big slaps. He took down Takahashi with the dodon then follows that with the ankle lock. Takahashi gets the knees up on a frosh splash attempt.

 He gains momentum, hitting the running death valley driver into the corner but as Takahashi goes for the timb bomb but Taguchi counters with the ankle lock. Taguchi looked like he was going for a torture rack but Takahashi counters with a small package. Takahashi hits another running death valley driver then hits the time bomb to retain the title. This was a really good, but not spectacular match, though there were some really great moments during the match.

Takahashi takes the mic after and declares he’s looking for a challenger. KUSHIDA responds, wanting his rematch from the Tokyo Dome. The two stare down one another, the next junior title program clear.

Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight champion) defeated Tiger Mask W in a non-title match

Takahashi takes the mic after and declares he’s looking for a challenger. KUSHIDA responds, wanting his rematch from the Tokyo Dome. The two stare down one another, the next junior title program clear.

This match started out as a nice, clean back and forth match. Tiger Mask W did the Golden Triangle moonsault but Okada countered the tiger bomb. Okada busts out red ink as Tiger Mask fights to make it to the ropes. Okada tries for the rainmaker but Tiger Mask counters and hits a snap German suplex (after faking out with a dragon suplex, which is pretty cool). 

Okada starts stomping on Tiger Mask which gets him angry and starts mounting a comeback. Tiger Mask shoves the referee but Okada comes flaring back with shots of his own. He hits the dropkick and goes for the rainmaker but Ibushi counters with a kick to the head. Still holding Okada’s hand, Tiger Mask connects with another and hits the press powerbomb but Okada kicks out.

Tiger Mask tries for the tiger bomb but Okada fights out of it. They go to the top rope where Okada tries to go for a tombstone but Tiger Mask lands on his feet and nails a reverse dropsault. Tiger Mask then comes off with an amazing tiger bomb off the top rope but Okada still kicks out. Tiger Mask goes for one more tiger bomb but Okada counters and follows with two rainmakers. Okada goes for a third, but Tiger Mask counters with a kick to the temple. Okada catches Tiger Mask off the top rope, hits a scary deadlift German suplex then hits the third rainmaker for the win. Excellent main event with some crazy moves near the end.

Okada wanted to shake Tiger Mask’s hand but he refuses, exiting the ring. He cut a promo promising he’ll deliver the rainmaker for many anniversary shows to come as the show ends.

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka live results: Naito vs. Elgin

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The second of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s New Beginning shows takes place overnight in Osaka with several titles on the line in high profile matches.

In the main event, Michael Elgin seeks to reclaim the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Tetsuya Naito, who has treated the belt as something with little value. Fully recovered from an orbital injury, Elgin looks to regain the title he once held and bring it back to prominence.

Other big title matches include Katsuyori Shibata defending the RPW British Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay, Hiromu Takahashi defending the IWGP Jr. title against Dragon Lee, and Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii defending their IWGP tag team titles against Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe and Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka (replacing an injured Lance Archer) in a three-way match.

The NEVER six-man titles will also be defended as EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Manabu Nakanishi.

Our live coverage begins at 3 a.m. ET.

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It was announced due to a bout of the flu, Hirai Kawato was off the card. He’ll be replaced by Henare.

TAKA Michinoku defeated Henare

Solid opener. Henare has some great looking shoulder tackles. Taka did some cool mat work and ended up getting the win by rolling him up, hooking both the arms and legs together.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima defeated KUSHIDA and Yoshitatsu

This was okay. Work was fine, but at times it was clear Yoshitatsu was a notch under everyone else. TenKoji worked on KUSHIDA early. Yoshitatsu comes in for a comeback, but it doesn’t work out for him. Yoshitatsu blocks one lariat attempt, but Kojima succeeds with another for the win.

Kojima extends his hand after the match, but Yoshitatsu refuses it and they both wind up in a scuffle that has to be broken up. Kevin Kelly mentions on commentary Yoshitatsu has a lot of thinking to do; I guess he’ll do it in Mexico as he’s set to be a regular in CMLL going forward.

Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Yuji Nagata and Juice Robinson defeated Jado, Gedo, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI

Another solid eight man bout. Nothing special, but good action. Goto and Liger had a cool exchange. Ended up being down to Jado and Juice, with the latter looking strong and finishing off with the unprettier, which he falls Pulp Friction.

Robinson made clear after the match he wanted another shot at the NEVER title, doing the belt motion around his waist.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi and Minoru Suzuki defeated Baretta, Rocky Romero and Kazuchika Okada

Suzuki went after Okada immediately, focusing on the leg that he worked on for so long on last week’s show.  Taichi and Kanemaru, and later Suzuki, work on Baretta in the ring. Baretta tagged in Okada, but again Suzuki immediately targeted the leg. Okada and Suzuki brawled on the outside while the juniors came in. Taichi helped with the finish, powerbombing Romero then lifting him up as Kanemaru planted him with the top rope DDT for the win.

Kanemaru and Taichi posed with the Jr. tag belts after the match. Baretta tried to make the save, but the numbers game got to him.

EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the NEVER Six Man tag belts

The faces all wore face paint before the match, I guess parodying EVIL’s bags under his eyes. SANADA goes for the skull end on Nakanishi but he counters with the torture rack.. Tanahashi has the cloverleaf on EVIL and Taguchi has the ankle lock on BUSHI but SANADA takes out Tiger Hattori while still on Nakanishi’s shoulders. Heels hone in on Nakanishi Sanada has the Skull Eng in again but Tanahashi hits the slingblade. Taguchi comes in and hip tosses EVIL. Nakanishi hits a crossbody on SANDA for a cool nearfall. Nakanishi gets misted by BUSHI while SANADA stumbles into the ref, then walks right into the Skull End where Nakanishi finally submits.

Heels take out the rest of the faces after the match. SANDA ties up Taguchi as Milano Collection AT at ringside stands up. SANDA dares him to do something, but Milano doesn’t do anything in response.

Katsuyori Shibata defeated Will Ospreay to retain the British heavyweight title

This wasn’t off the charts great, but still a great match as Ospreay looked incredible at times and Shibata was good in his role as well.

They start off slow, with Shibata working on Ospreay’s arm early. Ospreay comes back with some incredible offense, including a tope then immediately getting back into the ring and launches off with the Sasuke special. Shibata wraps up his legs and launches Ospreay with a German. Ospreay makes a comeback, hitting the imploding 450 splash for a nearfall. He goes for the Oscutter but Shibata grabs him and puts him in the sleeper. Ospreay can’t escape as he’s taken down then it’s followed by the penalty kick as Shibata retains the title.

Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Takashi Iizuka/Davey Boy Smith Jr and Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles

Fun, action packed match. DBS and Iizuka take Honma to the outside and waffle him with a steel chair, then continue to work on him in the ring. The Chaos team worked over Honma until he started mounting a comeback with the aid of Makabe. Big superplex by Ishii but Makabe immediately got up. DBS and Iizuka clear things out. After wiping everyone out with the iron fingers, DBS holds up Yano as Iizuka goes to strike, but Iizuka accidently hits DBS instead. Yano low blows both of them then rolls up DBS to retain the titles.

Hiromu Takahashi defeated Dragon Lee to retain the IWGP Jr. title

An amazing spectacle of a match that lived up to their incredible rivalry in Mexico. Some of the moves here just literally have to be seen to be believed. I think the only thing that comes close in the last year was Ricochet/Ospreay but even then it didn’t have the incredible spots this match had.

They exchange some quick offense early, with Dragon Lee gaining momentum following a tope. Takahashi follows with a sick sunset flip bomp off to the floor. Dragon Lee followed that with a hurricanrana off the apron and onto the floor, then followed with a tope con hilo. Lee went to do a stomp off the middle rope but Takahashi throws him to the floor and hits what I think was supposed to be a hurricanrana, but didn’t connect well.

Lee went for another hurricanrana off the apron but instead Takahashi powerbombed him. OUCH. Takahashi did a senton to the floor. Lee fires back and grounds him, working in a crossface, then hooks in both arms before Takahashi gets his feet on the ropes. Takahashi goes to do something off the top rope, but Lee blocks it. Takahashi responds by taking the mask right off of Lee and powerbombs him for a nearfall. Lee makes a comeback but Takahashi drills him with a canadian destroyer. Takahashi hits another, but Lee still kicks out. Takahashi finally hits the time bomb and that is it.

Taguchi comes to the ring after the match to challenge for the next title shot. Takahashi walks away, but tries to sneak attack Taguchi from behind with the titles. It fails, as Taguchi takes him down and applies the ankle lock.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Michael Elgin to retain the IWGP Intercontinental title

Incredible match, definitely up there as one of the best matches of the year so far. Tons of callbacks from previous matches, tremendous nearfalls and some sick spots made this a match you gotta check out sometime if you missed it live.

Naito did some stalling tactics early until Elgin took him out with a shoulder tackle. Elgin did a somersault dive to the floor, lifted up Naito, walked a few feet then suplexed him on the floor. Naito hones in on Elgin’s knee. Elgin fires up a comeback drilling Naito with German suplexes. Naito tries to counter with a tornado DDT but Elgin powers out and tries to lift him up but Naito finally counters with the DDT.

Naito tries to build some more momentum by blocking Elgin on the top rope and following with a sunset bomb, but Elgin catches him with a powerbomb. Elgin follows with a big splash and a sick lariat but Naito still kicks out. Elgin is trying for the powerbomb but his leg isn’t giving him the support he needs for it. Elgin takes Naito to the top rope. Naito musters a comeback, but Elgin blocks it, only for Naito to shoot back with a hurricanrana followed by a reverse rana.

Naito works on the leg and takes Elgin to the apron but Elgin grabs him and lays him out with a death valley driver on the apron. Elgin mocks Naito then goes for the buckle bomb but Naito reverses, lays him out then lands the Destino but Elgin kicks out. Naito tries for a second but Elgin rams him into the ropes. Elgin took him to the outside, powerbombed him on the apron then into the barricade then followed with the Elgin bomb but Naito still kicked out in an amazing near fall. Elgin tried  for the burning hammer but Naito countered with the Destino. Elgin kept trying but Naito kept countering. He hit the Destino after countering Elgin off the tope rope, then landed it once more to finally retain the championship.

The rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon, who all won or retained their titles tonight, came out as Naito cut a promo. Streamers flew as Naito flung around the title, disrespecting the title as he heads to the back to close out the show.

NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo live results: Okada vs. Suzuki

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Preview by Joseph Currier

New Japan Pro Wrestling returns tonight and into tomorrow morning with its biggest show since Wrestle Kingdom 11 as the New Beginning in Sapporo takes place at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center.

The show will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada’s first IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense since retaining his title against Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome. Okada will face Minoru Suzuki, who returned along with Suzuki-gun on NJPW’s New Year’s Dash show to set up his match for the title.

Suzuki-gun will challenge for two other championships as well. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer will challenge IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano in a three-way match that also includes Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma. And Roppongi Vice will put their IWGP junior tag titles on the line against Suzuki-gun members Taka Michinoku & Taichi.

The rest of the card will feature mostly tag matches to build to the New Beginning in Osaka later this month, as well as a NEVER Openweight Championship match with Hirooki Goto defending against Juice Robinson.

Our coverage begins at 1 a.m. ET.

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YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & DESPERADO VS. HIRAI KAWATO & KUSHIDA

About what you’d expect. Despeardo pinned Kawato with a spinning power bomb.  Kawato, who is 19, got on the show with the David Finlay injury.  Kushdia looked ral godo in one spot with an O’Connor role on Kanemaru and German suplex on Desperado at the same time.  Kawato’s timing was good.

Minoru Suzuki attacked Kazchika Okada at the press conference and put a kneebar on him.  They pushed that he’s coming into the match with an injured knee.

HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA VS. HENARE & YOSHITATSU & TOMOYUKI OKA

The finish here was Nagata beaitng Oka with the crossface submission.  Nice finish as Oka broke the crossface on one side, but Nagata moved it to the other side.  Really good action with Nagata and Yoshitatsu with the stiff elbows and kicks was the highlight.  Solid match, about what you’d expect.   

KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK VS. GEDO & JADO & WILL OSPREAY

Not much to this match.  The focal point was just to get Ospreay over.  Ospreay used the spinning kick and Oscutter on Tiger Mask for the pin.  After the match Shibata went after Ospreay, but Ospreay came back and laid out  Shibata with the Oscutter to help build this coming Saturday’s match for the British title.  Ospreay didn’t do his spectacular stuff, and while the exchanges with Shibata and Ospreay were good, it was nothing like at Korakuen Hall.

YOSHI-HASHI VS. TAKASHI IIZUKA

At least it’s over.  Yoshi-Hashi pinned him after a twisting power bobm.  Iizuka did his act running through the crowd.  He had the advantage most of the way using chair shots, choking him with a rope and he finally used the Iron Fingers from hell but Yoshi-Hashi ducked and went to the finish.  I’m surprised they beat Iizuka on his first big show and didn’t built more of a mid-card program between the two.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI & MICHAEL ELGIN & MANABU NAKANISHI & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & DRAGON LEE VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL & BUSHI & HIROMU TAKAHASHI

No reaction to the new Tanahashi theme.  The crowd was quiet here which hurt the match a little.  It turned into a good match with the highlight being Lee vs. Takahashi.  Big win for the face team as Elgin power bombed Naito over the top rope onto Evil & Sanada.  Tanahashi then used the high fly flow to the floor on Evil & Sanada.  Lee pinned Bushi with a power bomb.  Lee and Takahashi put each aman’s title belt in the others’ face.  Taguchi put on a mask and he, Tanahashi & Elgin & Lee all posed with their various title belts.

ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA VS. TAKA MICHINOKU & TAICHI FOR THE IWGP JR. TAG TEAM TITLES

This match was a mess.  Baretta pinned Taka with Strong Zero.  Afer the match, Kanemaru & Desperado challenged for the titles.  Most of the match was then beating on Baretta and it was like a five-on-two with Desperado & Kanemaru interfering as well as Taichi’s nymph girl who was constnatly distracting the referee.  The match didn’t have mudch heat even with all the heel tactics used.  It told a stroy but the crowd wasn’t much into it.  Romero was very good here and on paper, what Baretta did should have worked but crowd wasn’t buying Taichi’s stuff..

HIROOKI GOTO VS. JUICE ROBINSON FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

Stiff physical match which Goto won using the GTR after kicking out of a draping GTR.  It turned into a good match because it was hurt early on because nobody bought that Robinson could win in the early part of the match.  Robinson ended up with a bloody nose.  He made a good showing in losing. 

TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO VS. TOGI MAKABE & TOMOAKI HONMA VS. DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & LANCE ARCHER FOR THE IWGP TAG TITLES

Yano & Ishii retained when Yano used a low blow and cradle on Makabe.  .  Archer and Smith then went crazy after the match beating everyon in sight.  The story is that Suzuki-gun continues to not win.  These teams are all rematched next week. Fast moving match.  Good match.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS. MINORU SUZUKI FOR IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

This was an unreal match.  It was probably the best prolonged selling of any match in a decade or longer.  The first 30 minutes were Suzuki just destroying Okada’s knee.  He put him in all kinds of heel hooks and kneebars and even the figure four.  The story was that Okada would never submit.  The crowd was actually almost quiet becauase of how one-sided the match was.  The entire story was that it was clear Suzuki was winning but Okada kept never quitting.  They did a ref bump spot and then Taichi, Archer and Smith interfered.  Then Ishii and Yano ran them off.  They teased the Royce Gracie-Sakuraba finish as Gedo, in the role of Helio, was about to throw in the towel, but Okada told him not to.  Later, Okada was back getting his knee destroyed and they brought up how nobody was going to throw in the towel.  What is amazing was how this played off the Blaydes-Milstead fight earlier tonight.  The ref was about to stop the match but Okada made the ropes.  Okada and Suzuki then started trading slaps and twice Suzuki got Okada in the choke.  Okada actually teased a Gotch piledriver.  Suzuki did as well but Okada got out of it.  Finally after almost 40 minutes, Okada twice hit the rainmaker but coiuldn’t follow up on it because of knee damage but won with tjhe third rainmaker.  This was totally unlike any great match you’ll ever see. 

No challenge because the New Japan Cup winner gets the next title shot.

They also announced there would be English commentary on the Korakuen Hall show on Tuesday.